CHARGERS: Defenders not pleased with new illegal hit policy

SAN DIEGO -- The NFL is cracking down on illegal hits.
Commissioner Roger Goodell sent a memo to all teams on Wednesday
afternoon stating that more significant punishment will be used for
illegal hits, including heavy fines and suspensions.

The strict enforcement was prompted by a Sunday in which a
series of helmet-to-helmet on defenseless receivers made big news.
Heavy fines and the threat of suspensions -- even to first-time
offenders -- were doled out, to the chagrin of Chargers
defenders.

"It's a bit ridiculous where they're taking it," inside
linebacker Kevin Burnett said. "Let's be serious. In a violent game
like this, you're going to have concussions. I don't care what you
do to protect players. You're running into people. Guys are going
to get hit.

"Players are flying around at full speed in a game where every
inch counts. You have milliseconds to make a $50,000 decision."

That's a heavy punishment no defender liked, but all must comply
with in the future. Those polled said the memo won't make them
tentative and it shouldn't change how the game is played.

"There have been very few times where you have a shot like that
and you take it," free safety Eric Weddle said. "You may want to
make a big hit, but now you can't. Being fined and being suspended,
it's just not worth it.

"I don't think it's that big a deal. If you're under control and
you know the angles of tackling, I don't think it's a big deal. The
goal is to make a sure tackle, and there's a lot of place to make
an impact without going at their head."

Burnett made a helmet-to-helmet hit on St. Louis quarterback Sam
Bradford, but wasn't fined or penalized for the tackle.

"The guys that got fined took shots at defenseless players,"
Burnett said. "In my case, and I'm not defending my hit at all, my
guy had a chance to defend himself. I guess the league looked at
it, saw that he tucked the ball and ran and got hit pretty good. In
the other cases, the offensive player never saw it coming."

Strict punishment and increased enforcement serves to protect
receivers and quarterbacks, but defenders believe it's yet another
move to make life easier on the offense.

"All these rules are designed to put more runs on the board and
help an offense," inside linebackers Stephen Cooper said.
"Sometimes offensive players are trying to spear us when we're not
looking, but there's no rule to protect us in those situations.
It's a one-sided thing."

Chargers sign new kicker

With Nate Kaeding out with a groin injury, the Chargers tried
out three kickers Wednesday and Kris Brown emerged with the
job.

Brown kicked for the Houston Texans from 2002-09, but was
released in September. He has a strong leg and has converted 77
percent of his field goal tries.

"I've done this for a long time now and I know I can step right
in," Brown said. "It's just a matter of getting into my routine as
quickly as possible so I can perform at a high level. I know Nate's
the guy here, but I'm not worried about what's going to happen down
the road. I'm just focused on Sunday. Everything else will take
care of itself."

It's unknown exactly how long Kaeding could be out, but his
absence might be prolonged.

"It's hard to tell with those types of injuries," head coach
Norv Turner said. "He could be out a couple weeks, or he could be
out until after the bye (on Nov. 14)."

No. 3 quarterback J.T. O'Sullivan was released to make room for
Brown. The Chargers will carry on with just two quarterbacks. Also,
receiver Gary Banks, who was with the team in training camp, was
signed to the practice squad.

Injury update

Receivers Malcom Floyd (hamstring) and Legedu Naanee
(hamstring), tight end Antonio Gates (toe), Kaeding (groin) and
running back Ryan Mathews (ankle) were among the large number of
impact players who didn't practice. That group accounts for 11 of
the team's 18 offensive touchdowns and 39 points in the kicking
game.

While Floyd and Kaeding won't play against the Patriots, Turner
is hopeful Gates and Naanee will and that both will be able to
practice on Thursday.

Mathews had soreness in his sprained ankle and will return to
work on Thursday.

The Chargers have to sell roughly 1,000 general tickets for
Sunday's game by Thursday afternoon to lift the local television
blackout. There is optimism the team will sell the tickets by then,
or it will be granted a 24-hour extension by the NFL if the tickets
haven't sold.